Lifting device

ABSTRACT

The combination with a drive-on type motor vehicle lift having spaced runways, of means for lifting the front end of a motor vehicle and for supporting it free of the front wheels thereof to allow inspection and servicing of the vehicle front end, comprising a front end lift assembly extending between said runways, rollers on said assembly supported on rails carried on the adjacent edges of said runways to permit longitudinal travel of said assembly as a unit, and means for elevating said assembly into lifting contact with a front end underside configuration portion of said vehicle.

United States Patent 1111 3,563,345

[72] Inventors Charles W. MacMillan; 3,149,700 9/1964 Clarke 187/8.75 Milton A. Wertheimer, Rock Island, Ill. 3,315,763 4/1967 Harvey 187/8.43 [21] App]. No. 774,932 FOREIGN PATENTS [221 FM d 3:? 100,427 3/1937 Great Britain 187/843 [451 i t 997,084 6/1965 Great Britain..... 187/843 [73] Assignee Applied Power lndustr1es,lnc.,

a corporation f Wisconsin Primary Exammer- Harvey C. Hornsby 7 Attorney-Gary, Parker, Juettner, P1gott& Cullman [54] L GDEvlC-E ABSTRACT: The combination with a drive-on type motor 5 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

vehicle 11ft having spaced runways, of means for lifting the Us. front end of a motor vehicle and for upporting free of the a t B66"/00 front wheels thereof to allow inspection and servicing of the a v a a a a a vehicle front end comprising a front end assembly extend.

84513-741 ing between said runways, rollersfon said assembly supported on rails carried on the adjacent edges of said runways to per- [56] References Cited mit longitudinal travel of said assembly as a unit, and means UNITED STATES PATENTS for elevating said assembly into lifting contact with a front end 2,240,756 5/1941 Bristol 18 7/8.43 underside configuration portion of said vehicle.

i ,25 1/ k fi l t- 12 a "1/ I f 1 O l 1 o 2.9 Z. if 4 Z- w 1 9 4 .1 15 Z 4 15 T LIFIING DEVICE This invention relates to a novel device or arrangement of apparatus for lifting the front end of amotor vehicle and for supporting such end free of the front wheels thereof to allow inspection and a servicing of the front end, and particularly the ball joints of the vehicle, while the vehicle is supported on a drive-on type motor vehicle lift of conventional type.

The characterizing front end lift of the present invention extends between the conventional lift runways and is supported on rollers riding on rails carried by the runways so that it may be shifted longitudinally thereon.

This front end lift comprises a plurality of manually elevatable and rotatable hooks or contact arms adapted to embrace either the transverse front frame member or lower ball joint arm of the vehicle or both, thesehooks being components of units which are moveable transversely of the vehicle to thus provide adjustability both sideways and lengthwise of the vehicle. These contact arms are further adapted to be brought into lifting engagement and to raise the front wheels from the lift runways by pneumatic means.

The front end lift assembly as a whole is pivoted to frame portions which are mounted on theaforesaid rollers so that when the runways are elevatedthe front end lift assembly swings free to a vertical position with its upper end portion slightly above the runways. I-Iowever,:since this front end lift and its contact arms or hooks must be clear of all obstructions under the vehicle when the latter is driven off of the lift runways, the front end lift assembly folds on its pivots, as the runways are lowered to assume a final horizontal position between and beneath the upper edges of the runways.

The invention will be further explained, and its details of construction, arrangement of parts advantages and economics will be apparent from a consideration of the following specification and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view, with parts in section illustrating the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional detail on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 are progressive side elevational views of the device of the present invcntionillustrating its pivoted and foldable or nestable relationship with the lift runways.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numerals 10-10 indicate the runways of a conventional drive-on type motor vehicle lift, FIG. 1 showing the front wheels 11-11 of a motor vehicle seated on said runways, and the front end transverse vehicle frame member 12 and thelower ball joint arms 13-13 secured thereto. i

The inner edges of the runways 10-10 carry the rails 14-14 supporting the rollers 15-15 extending from the side plates 16-16, rolling travel being limited by stop members 17. The rollers 15 and side plates 16 are components of the front end lift assembly generally indicated as 18, and the assembly 18 further comprises the lower channel member 19, extending between runways 10-10, and which carries the two pneumatic or air cylinders 20-20 on the tie bar 21 and the rods 22. Disposed over and parallel to channel member 19 is the channel member 23 which is carried by and vertically movable on the air cylinder rams 24 retained in sockets 25 secured to upper channel 23. The end of the ram 24 bears on a ball 26 seated in socket 25 and is held by a cross pin 27. This arrangement provides for self-alignment of upper channel 23 wherein inboard hooks 28-28 and outboard hooks 29-29 engage the vehicle frame.

The aforesaid hooks are pivotally engaged to the inverted channel member components 30-30 by the horizontally extending pivot pins 31 and 32 respectively by means of which said hooks can be manually elevated, as indicated in FIG. 1, adjacent to vehicle frame portions 12 and 13, and brought into lifting contact with the latter by manipulating pneumatic control valve 33. The latter, through appropriate pneumatic flow control valving, filtering and tubing applies air pressure to the air cylinder rams 24, raising channel member 23 and its hooks 28 and 29.

The inverted channel sections 30-30 are slidably retained in channel 23 for manual adjustment longitudinally thereof by their respective retainer flanges 34 and 35.

The inboard hooks 28, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and hooks 29, are further adjustably held by the vertical pivot pins 36 for movementjn a horizontal plane with reference to hook base 37, rotational travel being limited by stop pins 38, and thus by the pivotal engagement of the hooks carried on the sliding units 30-30 adjustment to suit various automotive front end configurations as obtained for use in jacking vehicle front ends.

The unit 18 further carries the trunnions 39-39 projecting laterally from the frame portions, and in engagement with the longitudinally slidable plates 16, the trunnions being disposed adjacent one side edge of the units 118 and above their center of gravity. Thus as shown on FIG. 6,. the unit 18 extends vertically when it is freely lifted by raising of the units above the runways 10, and its upper portion is permitted to project slightly above said runways.

However in moving a vehicle onto and off the runways 10 the contact arms or hooks 28, 29 must be clear of all obstructions under the vehicle. Thus as shown progressively in FIG. 7, on lowering runways 10 the rollers 40, 41 successively contact the floor or base 42 causing the lift assembly 18 to pivot on its trunnions 39 and the rotational action continues, as shown in FIG. 8, until the unit 18 is nested between the runways 10-10 in fully horizontal position.

In the reverse, as drive or lift runways 10 rise, the front end lift unit 18 returns to a vertical position, and in this position stop block 43 contacts a stop pad 44 which is part of side plate 16 to limit further rotation beyond the vertical.

We claim:

1. Means for lifting the front end of a motor vehicle and for supporting it free of the front wheels thereof to allow inspection and servicing of the vehicle front end while the vehicle is supported on a drive-on type motor vehicle lift having spaced runways, comprising a front end lift assembly extending transversely between a pair of said runways, rollers on said assembly supported on rails carried on the adjacent edges of said runways to permit longitudinal travel of said assembly as a unit, and means for elevating a component of said front end lift assembly into lifting contact with a front end underside configuration portion of said vehicle, and means pivoting said front end lift assembly above its center of gravity whereby it is adapted to extend vertically and to partially project above said runways when the runways are 'in elevated position, and adapted to be folded horizontally below the upper edges of said runways by rolling contact with a supporting base and between them where the runways are lowered to permit the supported vehicle to move from the runways. V

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the elevatable component of said assembly comprises a plurality of manually elevatable hook elements horizontally pivoted thereon and adapted to contact said front end underside configuration portions of said vehicle.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein. said hook elements are slidable longitudinally of said assembly between said runways.

4. The device of claim 2 wherein said hook elements are further rotatably retained on vertically extending pivots.

5. The combination with a drive-on type motor vehicle lift having spaced runways, of means for lifting the front end of a motor vehicle and for supporting it free of the front wheels thereof to allow inspection and servicing of the vehicle front end while the vehicle is supported comprising a front end lift assembly extending transversely between said runways. rollers on said assembly supported on rails carried over the adjacent edges of said runways to permit longitudinal travel of said front end lift assembly as a unit, means for pneumatically elevating the components of said assembly into lifting contact with a front end undersideconfiguration portion of said vehicle, the elevatable components of said assembly comprising a plurality of manually elevatable horizontally and vertically pivoted hook elements adapted to contact said front end underside configuration portions of said vehicle, and means adapted to be folded horizontally below the upper edges of said runways and between them when the runways are lowered into contact with a supporting surface and to permit the supported vehicle to move from the runways. 

1. Means for lifting the front end of a motor vehicle and for supporting it free of the front wheels thereof to allow inspection and servicing of the vehicle front end while the vehicle is supported on a drive-on type motor vehicle lift having spaced runways, comprising a front end lift assembly extending transversely between a pair of said runways, rollers on said assembly supported on rails carried on the adjacent edges of said runways to permit longitudinal travel of said assembly as a unit, and means for elevating a component of said front end lift assembly into lifting contact with a front end underside configuration portion of said vehicle, and means pivoting said front end lift assembly above its center of gravity whereby It is adapted to extend vertically and to partially project above said runways when the runways are in elevated position, and adapted to be folded horizontally below the upper edges of said runways by rolling contact with a supporting base and between them where the runways are lowered to permit the supported vehicle to move from the runways.
 2. The device of claim 1 wherein the elevatable component of said assembly comprises a plurality of manually elevatable hook elements horizontally pivoted thereon and adapted to contact said front end underside configuration portions of said vehicle.
 3. The device of claim 2 wherein said hook elements are slidable longitudinally of said assembly between said runways.
 4. The device of claim 2 wherein said hook elements are further rotatably retained on vertically extending pivots.
 5. The combination with a drive-on type motor vehicle lift having spaced runways, of means for lifting the front end of a motor vehicle and for supporting it free of the front wheels thereof to allow inspection and servicing of the vehicle front end while the vehicle is supported comprising a front end lift assembly extending transversely between said runways, rollers on said assembly supported on rails carried over the adjacent edges of said runways to permit longitudinal travel of said front end lift assembly as a unit, means for pneumatically elevating the components of said assembly into lifting contact with a front end underside configuration portion of said vehicle, the elevatable components of said assembly comprising a plurality of manually elevatable horizontally and vertically pivoted hook elements adapted to contact said front end underside configuration portions of said vehicle, and means retaining said hook elements slidable longitudinally of said assembly between said runways, said front end lift assembly being pivoted to said runways above its center of gravity and adapted to extend vertically and to partially project above said runways when the runways are in elevated position, and adapted to be folded horizontally below the upper edges of said runways and between them when the runways are lowered into contact with a supporting surface and to permit the supported vehicle to move from the runways. 